Color-changing lights and lighting effects have become very popular in swimming pools and spas. These color-changing lights and lighting effects can produce various lighting shows. These shows can include making it appear as if a certain color is “moving” through or around the pool or spa; for example, from one end of a pool to the other. Further, custom shows can be generated to achieve a unique effect or to define a holiday, e.g., red and green for Christmas, red, white and blue for the Fourth of July, etc. As lighting technologies have gotten more advanced, more complex lighting shows, such as generating still or moving images in a pool or spa, are desirable.
To generate and control lighting shows, such as those described above, color control can be achieved by manually interrupting power to the light's internal microprocessor which activates the color changing mechanism. If the user wants individual control of multiple lights for basic illumination or for color lighting effects, this could require separate, manually activated switches, complicating the design and control of the lighting system. Furthermore, for more complex lighting shows, all of the switches might be required to be manually operated simultaneously, or in complex sequence, which is difficult at best.
Another option is to employ one or more control wires between a lighting controller and the individual lights in the pool or spa. However, running additional control wires can be cost prohibitive when adding a lighting controller to a pool with existing lighting, or replacing a device that controls the lighting using an alternate control technique, similar to that discussed above. For example, skilled electricians may be needed to pull the control wires through the existing conduit or wiring channels. Furthermore, where the existing conduit or wiring channels do not have sufficient room to accommodate additional wiring, new conduit or wiring channels may need to be installed, often requiring a concrete pad surrounding the pool or spa to be cut and re-poured once the installation is complete.
Desired is a way to control lights and other pool/spa equipment in a simple, but entertaining manner that allows for easier installation and upgrading of the lighting controller.